This
full-length Battlestar Galactica movie
made especially for TV broadcast is aimed at long-time fans and is not
recommended for any newcomers to this popular show on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Narrative-wise the events depicted therein fit in somewhere towards the
middle to end of that show's second season, but it would be safe to watch
Razor after finishing the season in question and before getting started
on season three. Newbies would be completely lost however and it is
recommended that they check out the mini-series first before moving on to
season one and the rest of the series in sequential order.

Razor works best as a companion piece to the current
Battlestar Galactica series as its
plot focus is unfortunately all over the place.

On the one hand it redundantly fills in some of the background info on the
Battlestar Pegasus / Admiral Cain storyline, supplying the sort of
information in the process that viewers would have guessed at by themselves.
Then, on the other hand, it tries to forward the series' general action in a
meaningful way while still trying to tell a standalone story without forming
part of an ongoing narrative. The blurb on the back of the DVD box sums up
the schizophrenic plot: (a) "Razor tells the untold story of Pegasus" and
(b) "provides chilling clues as to the fate of humanity as the final
chapters of the Battlestar Galactica story unfold." Razor feels like
two episodes from the show stitched together as the action shifts around
awkwardly in the second half of this 1 hour 41 minutes long movie.

The two story strands come together rather uncomfortably in telling the
story of Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen in a singularly unsympathetic
role), an officer onboard the Pegasus, who becomes Admiral Cain's right-hand
woman as it were. This alpha female lead character isn't particularly
likeable and her redemption as sympathetic heroine comes too late in the
story for the viewer to warm to her.

Despite its flaws though, Razor is still recommended viewing for
Battlestar Galactica fans who will
appreciate the back story on offer here. Production values (effects, sets,
etc.) are on the same high standard of the TV show. Older fans will also
appreciate the few flashback scenes to the previous Cylon wars of forty
years ago, which feature robot and spaceship designs from the old 1978
television series.